Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

  • About MHC
    • Disclosure
  • Dollhouses/Minis
    • Hummingbird Cottage
    • The Studio (Formerly TSP)
    • Dove Cottage
    • The Lake House
    • The Folk Art Dollhouse
    • The Modern Dollhouse
    • Dollhouse Source List, Information and Tutorials
  • On the Road
  • Collecting
    • Roseville Pottery
    • McCoy Pottery
    • Egg Cups
    • Bakelite
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy

Clothes for the Girls

January 5, 2022 at 10:01 am by Claudia

Last night’s sunset. We’ve had only one sunny day – yesterday – in a sea of gray skies and rain or sleet. As I write this, it’s sleeting again.

So we’re going to stay in our cozy cottage today. Thankfully, we don’t have to be anywhere.

I’m working on the Jane Austen puzzle which was designed by the same people who did the Shakespeare puzzle. So there are lot of tiny buildings and a river and little people and it’s very complex. Good! A challenge!

It’s been difficult for me to concentrate on reading. I’m not sure why. So I’m going to force myself to sit down and read a chunk of Cloud Cuckoo Land  by Anthony Doerr this afternoon. (I seem to be easily distracted these days.)

I try to limit my posts about the girls just in case you’re completely uninterested in them. I didn’t post anything about them yesterday. So, my friends, today you will see both Olivia and Maeve in some new clothing that arrived during the past few weeks.

Olivia in a an outfit from LenaLittleDress (IG handle.) I have ordered several outfits from her over the past 4 months. Her work is impeccable. She, like so many other creators, is from Russia. Her packages are always beautifully presented. In her case, the outfits are posted on Instagram and you must be lucky enough to be on IG at the moment, because they go very quickly. This came in a package that included a dress and when it arrived I didn’t remember ordering it! I had to check my Direct Messages to confirm that it wasn’t sent to me in error. Oh boy.

Maeve in a dress from RoseandCacao. This creator is from Portugal but lives in London. She makes charming and whimsical dresses. I have several or, rather, the girls  have several. When new outfits are available, she will post them at a certain time. I managed to order this dress while down on the subway platform waiting for a train. How I pulled it off, I’m not sure! But there are limited numbers of any new outfit and I wanted this one.

Meanwhile, I ordered two thermal t-shirts from Old Navy to add to the 6 or 7 I already have. Could I be any more boring? The thing is, when I taught for a living, I was younger and was quite the clothes horse. But now that we live the lifestyle we do, I don’t much care about clothes. I buy new jeans and t-shirts, the occasional sweater, or thermal top, and COMFORTABLE shoes. That’s it.

When I was younger, I loved to go clothes shopping. Now? I detest it.

But the girls are another situation entirely!

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

 

Filed Under: Blythe dolls 36 Comments

Tuesday Potpourri

January 4, 2022 at 9:46 am by Claudia

Just one more reminder that the email version of this post is no longer consistently delivered and it can go out any time – usually much, much later than I publish it. Please consider getting in the habit of just coming to the blog directly. I always published the post by 11 am, usually by 10 am.

That’s your public service announcement for today.

It is VERY cold here. For some reason last night, I couldn’t get warm when I went to bed. So I didn’t get as much sleep as I would have liked. Maybe it’s the sudden change from relatively mild temperatures to very cold weather. I’ll eventually get used to it.

Friday’s forecast has changed from 3-5 inches of snow to 1 inch. We have some rain coming Wednesday and Sunday, but no snow in sight on the long range forecast which goes to January 18th. We did not get hit with the snow that the coast did – that storm went right up the coast and we’re inland so we were spared.

One of Don’s birthday gifts to me:

He had a mug made for me with a picture of my director’s chair from the movie set. I did grab the canvas with my name on it. (We all did.) It’s on the wall in the office.

I’ve started the Jane Austen puzzle, but I didn’t start it until late in the day yesterday, so I just got all the edge pieces in place. More today. I’ve been experiencing some anxiety lately and working on a puzzle is a pleasant way to make that go away.

It’s sunny today. I can’t tell you how much we need it!

And finally, these arrived in the mail yesterday:

Yellow! They’re made by CraftyCora. She lives in Connecticut, which is refreshing since most of the stuff I order for the girls comes from other countries. There just isn’t a whole lot available here – based on what I’ve discovered so far. Cora does impeccable work. I have the same pair in green and I suspect I’ll order more.

I don’t know how she does it!

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: life 26 Comments

It’s Finally Monday

January 3, 2022 at 9:15 am by Claudia

Don is fetching our ornament bins from storage as I write this. Time to take down the tree.

It’s very cold here today and as I scanned the weather forecast, I noted the possibility of 3 – 5 inches of snow for Friday. That would be the first snow that wasn’t just a coating of snow/ice. We’re sort of excited.

Time to get salt.

Speaking of salt, our little hardware store closed. It has been there for years and years. The original owners were a well-known family in this community and they sold it a couple of years ago. I guess the new owner couldn’t make a go of it. We’re so sad. Now we have to drive 10 miles or more instead of the 2 miles we’re used to.

Our little town has become boring. It started with my friend Heidi closing her wonderful shop (remember, I used to work there part-time?) Now, there’s a pizzeria, an insurance agency or two, an accountant, a couple of small restaurants, and a yoga studio. No hardware, no pharmacy/drug store, no bookstore, no antique shop. It’s depressing.

Pippa helped me yesterday. She’s very bright and seems to like jigsaw puzzles, like her mom.

And the final product, finished this morning:

I always do 1000 piece puzzles and I didn’t realize until I started in on this one that I’d given Don a link for a 500 piece puzzle. Cockily, I thought I’d breeze through it. I was wrong. It was quite difficult!

Next up, the Jane Austen puzzle.

But first, taking down the decorations and then endless vacuuming because this tree is really dry.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

 

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, Christmas, jigsaw puzzles 12 Comments

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 308
  • 309
  • 310
  • 311
  • 312
  • …
  • 1771
  • Next Page »
  • Email
  • Instagram

Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

Thanks for stopping by.

Searching?

The Dogs

The Dogs

Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Thanks for visiting! Feel free to browse, read and enjoy. All content is my own; including photos and text. Please do not use anything on this site without permission.

Disclosure/Privacy Policy can be found in the Navigation Bar under ‘About MHC.’

Also, I love receiving comments! I do, however, reserve the right to delete any comment that is in poor taste, offensive or is verging on spam. It’s my blog. If you’re a bot or a troll you’ll be blocked. Thanks!

Archives

All Content © 2008 - 2025 Mockingbird Hill Cottage · Log in